Demon Bound

Except for her elbows. And even those, he wanted to cup in his hands. Undo the tiny buttons that climbed her sleeve. Rip her dress off, or just lift her up on one of the computer desks and yank down her bloomers.
    Did she wear bloomers? He couldn’t recall the outline of anything beneath those skirts, no ruffles or panty lines. Maybe she went bare. Maybe she was, right now, wearing nothing but her stockings and boots beneath those skirts.
    Hot damn.
    But it didn’t matter. Whether he had to tear them off first or could just dive in, he wouldn’t come up for air until she begged.
    No, no. While begging, she’d probably call him “novice.” Not the best thing for a man to hear at that point. Far better if she was quiet when she came.
    Or screaming. Screaming was good, too.
    He looked down, met her icy blue stare, saw the prim set of her mouth.
    Yeah. None of that was ever going to happen.
    He’d been in that hole with her for too long. Just because she’d gone soft against him didn’t mean she had any intention of letting him play drill sergeant and give her a tongue-lashing.
    He removed his hands from her shoulders, shoved them into his pockets.
    Alice lifted her chin and surveyed the room over the length of her nose. “This will not do at all, novice. We need more space.”
    He couldn’t argue with that. But when he turned and told her to follow him, it was still an effort not to kick one of the chairs on the way out.
    Goddammit. For a while, from the time he’d jumped into that chamber and up until they’d jumped here, that giant stick of disapproval hadn’t been up her ass.
    Now it was back.
    And there was nothing to do but see how far up it would go. As they walked down the corridor leading from the tech room to the main offices, he rapped his knuckles on a utility door.
    “A closet,” he said when she glanced at him. “In case you change your mind, decide to go for tight quarters. You seemed to like it. Enough to cuddle, at least.”
    Yep. All the way up her spine, and branching out into her shoulders.
    “I’ll let you poke me again, too,” he offered. “Maybe with your knees, next time.” Spread, on his shoulders, while he licked and licked.
    “I don’t think so, novice.”
    “Ah, come on. You know the thought of stabbing me with your bony parts makes you hot.”
    He stopped in front of Hugh and Lilith’s office door, and she took another step before doing the same. Her mouth was a tight line, her arms folded across her chest.
    He was such a dick.
    So she wasn’t looking for a quick bang—or a long one. He should have been able to deal with that. Hell, he wasn’t looking for one, either. He’d done the orgy thing, thirty years of mindless fucking, and had been getting tired of it even before the Ascension.
    But why was it that when he started wanting a little more, it was with the Black Widow? Jesus Christ. Sexy, funny, smart women lay thick on the ground—and most weren’t struggling with whether to kill a Guardian or to flippin’ save themselves. At SI alone there were at least a dozen smoking-hot women, and they might have starred in his fantasies now and then, but sex wasn’t worth fucking up his friendships with them.
    Yet here he was fucking everything up with a woman he couldn’t stop thinking about, and it wasn’t just the bang he wanted. But damn if he knew what it was about her that was getting to him.
    Hell, maybe it was her struggle with her bargain. He couldn’t say he knew many people—men or women—who had to carry a burden that heavy. And if their souls were on the line, how many people would have just taken the easy route?
    Yet Alice hadn’t. And by trying to do the right thing, she’d hooked his interest. Too bad she didn’t want him hooked.
    He shook his head. That still didn’t explain the level of dickery he’d sunk to. This wasn’t the first time a woman hadn’t returned his interest. But he’d never taken it like this before. Had never taken it out on someone like this before. And he’d never been so disappointed that he couldn’t get through. That he couldn’t even see a possible opening.
    He pushed through the office door without knocking, thinking that if he’d been born eight hundred years ago, when men didn’t wait for permission before grabbing a woman, he’d have had Alice up against a wall already.
    Like eight-hundred-year-old Hugh had Lilith up against a bookcase.
    “Gee,” Jake said, and his life flashed in front of his eyes.